Discussions

lets end the stigma!  
 
I have depression and anxiety! I have been struggling and fighting for a year now. It is an awful way to live, but on the positive...I am seeing the light at the end of the fight.  
 
http://letstalk.bell.ca/en/  
 
 
 

Is needed. I have been suffering from depression for almost a year now but am taking anti-depressants. It's not fun.

Just been recently diagnosed with having anxiety and depression. But I have been living with it for quite some time now from what I am told. It is truly a nightmare. The smallest things become almost impossible to do.  

tornup said "Just been recently diagnosed with having anxiety and depression. But I have been living with it for quite some time now from what I am told. It is truly a nightmare. The smallest things become almost impossible to do.   "

the smallest things are hard to do, as hard as it is try and keep positive.  
 
I have been keeping a kind of journal on what I do each day....Dec. 19 I had one thing on my list, on Jan. 19 I had 11 things on my list I did. But that is after a year of struggling and even though with drugs and therapy I still go to bed wondering if I will still be getting better the next day, or will have relapsed again. It is scary and terrifying.  
Do not be hard on yourself, take things minute by minute. Try and have a great support network of friends and family. If they don't understand, find a few good articles on the Mayo Clinic site. Also, if you don't have a mental health worker, they have great ones at the Towne Centre 578-2400. Good Luck!

as I am reading everyone's response of how long they have been struggling with this, I hear a lot of "for a year now" so my question is, do you just one day wake up and feel very sad, or does something happen in your life you cant get over? The reason I ask is, it is scary to think that you are fine today, but tomorrow you might wake up feeling like these posts describe.

Many people live with episodes of depression, and in that case I sort of consider it a struggle, but if depression gets to the point that it takes control of your life it is no longer a struggle but becomes a battle. Just imagine getting up in the morning, when a person can't find a reason to get up in the morning because all seems hopeless, and it can happen overnight. The phrase "the straw that broke the camels back" comes to mind, what may seem just another small annoyance to some people, becomes a major obsticale that seems undefateable. Don't know,but in a way it's a hard thing to explain, and different people handle it different ways, and for many medication is the only solution that works.

usually right said "as I am reading everyone's response of how long they have been struggling with this, I hear a lot of "for a year now" so my question is, do you just one day wake up and feel very sad, or does something happen in your life you cant get over? The reason I ask is, it is scary to think that you are fine today, but tomorrow you might wake up feeling like these posts describe. "

There can be signs leading to depression. Lack of interest, sleeping too much isolating. But, if you have never had depression before you may not know what is happening to you.  
 
I had depression 22 years ago. The first med kicked in and I was great within a few weeks and for twenty years. It came back and even I had a hard time recognizing the symptoms. The med I had been on for twenty years quit working.  
 
This past episode has been over a year. My psych and I could not find the right med. Every med takes weeks to kick in. So you take a med and wait...not feeling any better. I went through 4 med changes (each med can have terrible side effects, etc.), spent time in CAP, and I am feeling very positive we finally have the right med.  
 
It is very scary and terrifying. Thank God I never had the suicidal thoughts that go along with depression. It is very hard on your family also. They become very affected if they are caring and supportive.  
 
I feel in the past two weeks, after a year of trial and error, that we have the right med. I have more energy, am starting to go out more. My depression is a chemical imbalance. There are so many different types, so all are not treated equally.  
 
Not sure I answered your question or just blabbed on.  
 
Also...the company I worked for has gone under new ownership and they terminated and laid people off, even though I was off on disability it was all done properly. So now, when I get to the point I can return to work, I will have to start over looking for a job. I won't have the option of "return to work slowly", and then their is that discussion that was held earlier...do I tell a potential employer or not about my condition?  
 
Affects your whole life.  
 
Edited by Brenda, 2016-01-27 12:23:42

And I truly hope that action comes from dialogues like this day of action.  
 
Politicians love to get on a bandwagon - they see a cause and if they think it will make them look better they suddenly are on board. I find this to be true of MPs who support Soldiers and their need for PTSD and metal health care.  
 
I make no bones about it - they do need that care. The atrocities they may have seen I cannot even guess about.  
 
But what the public may not know is over the years RCMP officers have seen their medical benefits eroded, they have no access to special PTSD care either. Cannot speak to local police forces, but the RCMP have had huge cuts to their benefits and pensions and more.  
 
So if politicians feel the need to toot that horn so much, they should be ensuring that our first responders here at home have the same access to specialized mental health care as any soldier does. And not just police - firefighters, paramedics, (yes, those are local government and need to be addressed by their appropriate government).  
 
I cannot imagine what some of these people come across in the course of their days. The men and women who were first on scene of the Tim McLean killing - every one of them needed some form of specialized PTSD counseling after that event, and most of them had to take on the initiative themselves because it was not a part of RCMP directives. One of the officers ultimately killed himself due to the shock and inability to deal with it.  
 
I would gladly pay more in taxes if we could be assured our first responders have access to services they need in their line of duty to us.

In terms of waking up one day with it, it is like one PP said its like a straw that broke the camels back. For me it was anxiety issues. I had been dealing with multiple things in my life and didn't realize the drain it was putting on me and the worries I had compounded the problem. One day, woke up, went to work and all I remember is feeling completely numb. It was my husband and boss who really noticed and said we need to do something. Seeking help was the best thing I could have ever done. With the help of counselling I have learned to cope with my anxiety, and I learned a lot about myself and what I needed to do to feel more like myself and stay feeling that way.  
 
I encourage anyone experiencing situations involving mental health to reach out for help. There are wonderful people trained to help, and it is never too late.

Bell media just released the numbers.  
With all the calls, texts, tweets, and posts just over 6,295,000 was raised.  
Thank you to everyone!!!!